1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for making an electronic assembly and more particularly, to a method for making an electronic assembly including a primary printed circuit board (PCB) and at least one daughter PCB electrically coupled to the primary PCB.
2. Background of the Invention
There is a continuing challenge in the electronic industry for making low cost, reliable printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies comprising at least two PCBs, such as a mother or primary PCB and a daughter or secondary PCB, with reliable interconnections between the PCBs. PCBs may be rigid, such as those having a substrate made of alumina or FR-4 glass/epoxy laminate, while others are relatively flexible (e.g., “flex circuits”), such as those having a substrate made of polyimide film, polyester film, polyetherimide (PEI) film and the alike.
The interconnection between the PCBs electrically connects the circuit traces of the first PCB to corresponding circuit traces on a second PCB. Traditionally, the electrical connections between closely positioned PCBs, e.g., closely stacked or parallel PCBs, have been achieved with rigid connectors. These are typically made of two mating halves, a male and a female, each having leads to attach to the PCB and receptacles captured in a rigid housing. One advantage of the rigid connectors is that various halves of the connectors are easily surface mountable and some degree of automation can be employed when they are attached to the PCB. However, they often require manual processes to mate the two PCBs to each other, and they are susceptible to mechanical failure due to stress induced by tolerance stack up, soldering and/or other assembly related processes, or by mechanical shock, e.g., being dropped onto a surface.